Korea Customs Service Supports Customs Administration for Companies Affected by the Ukraine Crisis

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Customs Service announced on the 7th that it will provide customs administration support such as tax support, special customs clearance, and resolution of customs clearance difficulties for export companies facing difficulties such as trade regulations and payment disruptions due to the Ukraine crisis.

The support focuses on resolving difficulties in parts procurement for domestic companies operating local factories in sectors such as automobiles and home appliances, and preventing deterioration of cash liquidity caused by delays or suspensions in payment due to international financial sanctions against Russia.

It also plans to focus on minimizing damage by promptly responding to factors worsening the profitability of export-import companies, such as increased import burdens for manufacturing companies due to rising international raw material prices like crude oil and natural gas, which have high import dependence on Russia.

In particular, the Korea Customs Service plans to broadly include not only companies directly engaged in export-import transactions with Russia and Ukraine that have suffered damage, but also export-import companies indirectly affected by rising raw material prices, supply instability, and logistics delays caused by the aftermath of the conflict.

Russia ranks as the 10th largest trading partner of South Korea, with 5,370 export companies and 2,850 import companies engaged in trade. Ukraine ranks 69th in trade, maintaining trade relations with 2,450 export companies and 860 import companies.

To assist these companies, the Korea Customs Service will actively promote tax support to alleviate corporate financial difficulties by extending the customs payment deadline up to one year and allowing installment payments.

Additionally, for goods requiring urgent procurement due to raw material supply shortages caused by logistics delays, or export cargo that cannot enter Russia or Ukraine and returns to Korea, the service will support rapid customs clearance through 24-hour customs support, priority processing, and minimizing import inspections.

At this time, regulations requiring export goods from the relevant regions to be shipped within 30 days after export declaration acceptance will be relaxed, and if an extension of the loading period is requested, approval will be granted within a one-year range.

To resolve customs clearance difficulties, the service will focus on quickly identifying customs clearance issues faced by local companies and resolving them through cooperation with customs authorities of neighboring countries such as the European Union and conflict areas.

Furthermore, the Korea Customs Service plans to strengthen continuous monitoring and information sharing on items with potential supply disruptions using export-import information data, and establish a close cooperative system among related ministries for a whole-of-government response.

A Korea Customs Service official said, “We operate ‘Export-Import Company Support Centers’ at six customs offices nationwide to receive reports of corporate damages caused by the Ukraine crisis and will concentrate our capabilities on customs administration support to minimize corporate damages.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.